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28 Great Real-Life Home Offices
Houzz Readers Prove You Can Turn Any Room Into Inspiration Central
We asked you to show us your workspace, studio or office, and you responded with inspiring office decor ideas for every type of workspace imaginable. Read on for home office inspiration from a 20th century milk house, an ancient historian's library, a renovated sleeping porch and more.
Have your own great home studio or office to share? Post it in the Comments section below!
More: 23 Inspiring Real-Life Kitchens
Have your own great home studio or office to share? Post it in the Comments section below!
More: 23 Inspiring Real-Life Kitchens
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1. Cbraunc's compact office solution. Houzz user cbraunc's office is simply tucked inside an armoire from Victoria's Armoire. After her son was born, her office became his bedroom, so a compromise was necessary. "It's little, but it's mine," she says. This spot is mainly used for computer work and storage, while inking, drawing, and everything else takes place on her dining room table.
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| 2. Hudsonbeebe's rustic nook. Conveniently tucked into a little nook, Hudsonbeebe's office area centers around a vintage desk built by her husband's great grandfather, a blue dresser found at a thrift store, and a black-and-white print of a cow named Rupert.
The chair was found at The Farm Chicks antique show in Spokane, Wash. Hudsonbeebe painted the walls in Benjamin Moore's Pigeon Grey to add depth, then mounted the desktop on the wall to keep the desk area as clean as possible. |
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3. Vintagefrenchhen's updated milk house. After moving to a former dairy farm, vintagefrenchhen knew right away that she wanted to transform the old milk house in the back into a vintage-style office space. Built sometime in the early 20th century, the structure had been renovated numerous times. Vinyl and carpet were torn up from the cement floors, which she then painted a soft gray.
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Track lighting and a ceiling fan were removed and replaced with a simple chandelier. All of the furniture in the cottage was found from thrift stores, garage sales, or were gifts. "I love that my new space is so fresh and airy," she says. "I don't want to keep adding things to the room, because I'm really enjoying the organization of less clutter."
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4. Millaway's mix of traditional and contemporary. Houzz user millaway converted an additional room in his traditional home into an office space. Built in 1932, he did a complete remodel, although the oak floors are from the original house. The desk is actually a dining table purchased from I.O. Metro. The desk chair and light fixture are from Pottery Barn.
"We saw the giraffe at Anthropologie and were interested right away," he says. "It was important to us that we had something that was fun. An office space can be boring, and we wanted to lighten the mood."
"We saw the giraffe at Anthropologie and were interested right away," he says. "It was important to us that we had something that was fun. An office space can be boring, and we wanted to lighten the mood."
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A working fireplace in the room was painted white, and accented with tall black votives. Modern art and a shelf accessorized with various knickknacks all combine to create a comfortable blend of modern and traditional styles.
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| 5. Danwa's office of ancient history. A historian at a German University, danwa has collected a lot of books over the years. This impressive display took nearly 10 years to build – but it's only one of two parts! The shelves are just IKEA BILLY bookshelves in beech.
In addition to her interest in ancient history, danwa is also a photographer of modern architecture and interior design, so he loves a strong and minimalist look. The office floor lamp is the IMOLA XL Stehleuchte. The desk is from IKEA, and the black chair is the Cassina LeCorbusier LC2. |
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6. Yolandarivas's calming white space. Yolandarivas designed a built-in bookcase in her office to include storage space for photos, books and tchotchkes. A gray stained countertop was added underneath to break up the white.
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Two matching desks were put in the room, one in white lacquer (visible in the previous photo), and one in mirror. The walls were painted a rosy gray to keep things neutral but still add warmth.
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| 7. Susanebrown's contemporary design with antique accessories. Houzz user susanebrown decided to dress up her plain-Jane office space with bright colors and bold accessories. The back wall was painted in Benjamin Moore's Fresh Clay.
The large wooden piece on the front of the desk is actually an old sugar mold. A row of holes at the top, once used to mold sugar, now hold small votive candles. |
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This rolling cubby, found at Art and Architecture in Minneapolis, was a great find that helps store paint and fabric samples in an organized fashion. This wall was painted in Shelburne Buff from Benjamin Moore.
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| 8. Stmichael's eco-friendly office space. Stmichael's office was built with energy efficiency in mind. The Marvin windows were custom designed so the upper windows have maximum insulation and heat reflection; the lower windows are designed to allow heat in during the winter when the sun is lower on the horizon.
The floors are made out of solid bamboo, and were installed on a hydroponic heat subfloor. The ceiling beams are reclaimed antique beams salvaged from a railroad station. |
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| 9. Sclarke3034's second-hand finds. Since sclarke3034 runs a preschool business from her home, she knew that she needed a space all to herself. Almost everything in this space has been repurposed in some way. The sideboard is made up of two painted cabinets that were found in a friend's garage. The desk was previously her dining room table, that they simply cut down in width and reattached the legs to. |
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| This room was initially a family room, so sclark3034 decided to keep the sitting area in her office. The couch was a Craigslist find, and the brown chairs were found for free and reupholstered. The floors were salvaged from a family member who was getting new flooring. "It feels so good to take something that is secondhand, hand-me-down, or junk, and give it a new life," she says. |
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| 10. Susietenzer's art studio. Susietenzer is a colored pencil artist who specializes in still life. This office is her workspace. It's quiet and organized — but she still wants to make it a bit more inspiring. Her easel was a gift from her husband's uncle, who is close to 90 years old and a mentor to her. |
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11. Sandymac's shabby chic office. Inspired by a studio apartment she once rented on Oahu, sandymac decided to outfit her office with the same Mitchell Gold couch the owner of the apartment had. The coffee table and built-in bookshelves were custom made by a local artist. The pillows on the couch were designed by her girlfriend. The wall color is called Windswept Sails. "It's a very calming, yummy pale green," she says.
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12. Safbham's inspiring artistic collections. Safbham's space is filled with items for inspiration — creative works of his own, random collections, and early American art works. A wall of cupboards is perfect for housing necessary craft supplies, and a marble-topped table is a great work surface. "With so much inspiration all around me, I really don't miss the fact that the room has no windows," safbham says.
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13. Ahaytaian's relaxing and bright studio. This soothing office belongs to Houzz user ahaytaian. Located on the east side of her home, it's full of beautiful natural light for most of the day. The cabinetry and desk set was custom built in a fresh white. The walls are done in a custom faux finish with blue tones. The modern chairs are from Space, a New Jersey boutique.
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| The mahogany floors contrast beautifully with the blue-toned walls. A damask patterned love seat sits underneath a modern mirror. The bay window floods the room with light and has a great little shelf for photos, books and other office necessities. |
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14. Lwarren2's smartly combined office solution. Houzz user lwarren2's office is a space for several very different types of activities — desk work, butterfly collecting and dancing. The desk is a Whalen steel work bench, topped with a butcher block.
The large stainless steel cabinet underneath houses her husband's butterfly collection (although some are out on display for eye candy as well). There was even enough room in the space for lwarren2 to put in a portable dance floor!
The large stainless steel cabinet underneath houses her husband's butterfly collection (although some are out on display for eye candy as well). There was even enough room in the space for lwarren2 to put in a portable dance floor!
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| 15. Lookie's custom-made craft room. All of the furniture in lookie's craft room was custom made by her father, who's a fantastic craftsman. The black damask skirt around desk and the window treatment are all made out of four curtain panels from Hobby Lobby. "I love the skirt because it covers any mess that's underneath the desk," lookie says.
The craft island was customized so that she'd have a specific place to hold scrapbook paper on one side, and a bin of wrapping paper on the other. Repurposed bar stools found at an estate sale fit perfectly on each side of the island. |
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| 16. Lindamedina's carved-out office space. Lindamedina had her 500-square-foot office carved out of a space under her home that was once filled with dirt. It took about a week for the dirt to be taken out by jackhammering out the sandstone. Most of the furniture is reused, and all of the lighting is low-voltage LED lighting. |
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| 17. Docrdk's jewelry design studio. A jewelry designer, docrdk used various IKEA products and an IKEA hacker to design a home office and jewelry studio. Custom cork boards display earrings and other items. Closet bars were painted black and hung from a shelf to hang bracelets and necklaces. |
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18. Interiorsbynanette's simply luxurious office. When designing her own office, interiorsbynanette knew exactly what she wanted. Two work stations were custom built against one wall, with regular drawers and file drawers easily accessible. A long wooden counter provides plenty of desk space, and overhead shelving houses her design books and magazines. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Liberty Park.
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| 19. Letreo's refreshing garage update. Houzz user letreo painted the cement floors and walls in her hobby/workspace a fresh white. The turquoise storage cabinet was a hand-me-down painted to match the turquoise-and-yellow theme. |
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All of the lighting is from IKEA, and the runner underneath the craft area is from Crate & Barrel. "It's nothing too glamorous, but it's my favorite space nonetheless," she says.
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20. Lauratrevey's bright and colorful craft room. Lauratrevey's light-filled room provides her with inspiration throughout the entire day. The custom island was designed to store large watercolor paper. It's movable with casters on the bottom, so it can be placed anywhere in the room.
Lauratrevey also created a large pegboard inspiration board to display framed and unframed watercolors. The walls and the pegboard are painted Spring Mint by Benjamin Moore.
Lauratrevey also created a large pegboard inspiration board to display framed and unframed watercolors. The walls and the pegboard are painted Spring Mint by Benjamin Moore.
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21. Allende's creative and custom office space. The desk in allende's office is topped with steel rusted using s unique technique. Allende had a piece of steel cut to size, and then brought it outside and poured rock salt and Coca Cola all over it. She covered it with burlap bags for a couple months to rust, and then sanded it and waxed it with BriWax for a smooth finish. This little nook (which was initially meant for an elevator!) is finished off with one of her own original paintings on the back wall.
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22. Inmyownstyle's crafty and self-made studio. Almost all of the pieces of furniture in Houzz user inmyownstyle's studio are hand-me-downs or rescued pieces. This vintage-styled dressmaker's dummy was salvaged from her old workplace. She covered it with ripped brown paper and Mod Podge to give it this distressed look.
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The center work table in inmyownstyle's studio was made using two hand-me-down cabinets. On one side she placed a piece of cellulose-based fiber wall board so she can cut, paint and glue without damaging the table. An electrical outlet was installed on the floor under the table, so she can plug in a hot-glue gun, drill or other tool and have it right at hand. "I could not live a happy creative life without a space like this set up in my home," she says.
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| 23. Bwahacker's sleek and tech-friendly office. Bwahacker's office is a computer lover's dream. A software engineer who works from home when not traveling, bwahacker usually spends about 60 to 80 hours a week in this room — so he wanted it to be a place he'd actually enjoy being in.
All of the products in this space were chosen for efficiency and comfort. A Herman Miller Embody chair provides ultimate ergonomic comfort. The larger desk is from the Bush Furniture Series C collection, while the front desk is Design Within Reach's Dordoni Worktable. |
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24. Becolorful's cheerful renovated sleeping porch. Housed in a former sleeping porch, becolorful's office space has beautiful old windows that were designed to drop down into the walls to expose the screens. "I can only imagine it would have been a blissful place to catch a few winks," she says.
A passionate lover of color, she painted the walls in Valspar's First Kiss, and then put black-and-white linoleum on the floors for a bold and graphic contrast.
A passionate lover of color, she painted the walls in Valspar's First Kiss, and then put black-and-white linoleum on the floors for a bold and graphic contrast.
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A small desk setup is just visible in an arched mirror. "The mirror was a cheap find but I liked the arch element, because our home has a number of arched doorways," becolorful says.
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| 25. Conwayni's bold and modern office. "I want to walk into my office with a feeling of power, like I can accomplish anything I want each day," Conwayni says. Two different desks and a bright green Eames desk chair sit on top of a custom zebra rug. The glass desk is from Advanced Interior Designs, and the wall art is by Texas artist J.Trinh. |
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26. Galynn's rustic office fix. While galynn says that her current office is a temporary solution (due to construction on her house), it has a few unique features worth preserving. The desk is an antique with the drawers pulled out and wood put across the top for the keyboard. The wall behind the desk is tin, and galynn is cleverly using magnets to hold photos and business cards to the wall.
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27. Nyclq's dramatic black-and-white workspace. A glamorous and chic space in all black and white, Houzz user nyclq's color palette started off with an attempt to display a collection of black-and-white photos of New York City. As the room evolved, it's become a personal and unique mix of photos, books and collectibles.
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28. Katypopo's modern office nook. Katypopo's office lives in a former closet. She painted the back wall with magnetic chalkboard paint as a more modern (and fun!) replacement for a bulletin board.
More: 23 Inspiring Real-Life Kitchens
More: 23 Inspiring Real-Life Kitchens
Ideabook updated on Aug. 17, 2011.
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Thanks for the feature. I am probably going to be moving to a new house soon. I will miss my studioffice and how I have set it up. Looking through all the ideas here is giving me new inspiration on how I might set up my" creating" space in a new home.
Marcia@ vintagefrenchhen.blogspot.com
Also I wanted to share an idea about dealing with wires under the desk. We've just added a basket to contain the surge protector and all plugs for the computer & accessories. The plastic hose is sold at IKEA or any hardware store. This airy basket solved our "wire clutter" problem and makes cleaning much easier--not to mention the addition to a warm style to all the hardware.